


In the Off-Season

by paperficwriter



Category: Hajime no Ippo | Fighting Spirit
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Making Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:47:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9557873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperficwriter/pseuds/paperficwriter
Summary: Ippo decides to surprise Sendo by showing up at his place in Osaka during the off-season.





	

“Ippo-chan!”

Immediately, Ippo blushes at the greeting he gets at the door of the small house in Osaka, shyly scratching at the back of his neck as he bows to the old woman in the doorway. He can’t help smiling, despite how tired he is from the flights he took to get here. All he had told Sendo was that he was going to an off-season boxing camp in California for a couple of days. What he didn’t know was that he wouldn’t be going home to Tokyo after…

It was a real gamble, making the plans to surprise him. He had written ahead to his grandmother to ask if he could stay, arranged getting a car from the airport, all of it. But now that he is actually walking into the house, putting his things down, he feels even more nervous than he did before his first bout.

Sendo will be happy to see him…right?

Sure, they hadn’t really made anything official, but…they _had_  to be more than just friends at this point. They had…done stuff, after all. Made out a bit, talked on the phone, did other things on the phone…

“Takeshi’s room is down the hall to your left. You can go right in. He might be sleeping.”

Ippo swallows hard, and he’s both glad and a little terrified that she is so nice about letting him walk in on Sendo while he’s resting. Glad, because it would probably be awkward if he just had to wait around. Terrified, because…well, what if Sendo wakes up and smashes him into next week? He wouldn’t do that, right?

The door is open just slightly, and Ippo pushes it so he can slip in, closing it behind him. There’s a television on that’s showing re-runs of old sitcoms, and he’s barely inside before he can tell, without a doubt, that Sendo is sound asleep, because he’s making a sound like a boat engine that’s on its way out. In the flickering light, he can make out how he’s curled up on his side, hugging the pillow under his head, the hoodie he’s wearing riding up a bit to show tan, soft skin beneath. It’s strange, seeing his face so relaxed, his normally terse expression lacking all of its edge and attitude.

Damn, it really has been a long trip, and no matter how much he wants to look at Sendo, he can barely keep his head up. And as much as he wants to give Sendo a hug, want to touch him, it doesn’t seem right while he’s sleeping. That would be rude.

The bed’s big enough, though, so maybe he can just chill out for a little bit with him. That should be fine.

Ippo doesn’t plan on falling sound asleep, but of course it happens as soon as his head hits the pillow.

“Makunouchi?”

Ippo wakes up with a start to find Sendo staring at him. It’s hard to tell what time it is, and the show on the television is different from when he came in. He would sit up and explain himself, but Sendo is holding his hand. Not tightly, but it may as well weigh a thousand pounds, because it feels like he can’t move. His pulse is hammering inside of his head.

“Surprise?” he says, though it comes out at the end like a questioning yawn. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Yeah, likewise, but I figured ya might not want to sleep the whole night away.”

“Wait, how long were you watching me?”

“I dunno, a half hour or so?”

Ippo groans, burying his face in the pillow he had claimed. “I’m so embarrassed…I just wanted to let you sleep, but I guess the jetlag caught up with me.”

“S’fine. If it’s any help, I was  _very_  surprised wakin’ up to find you sleepin’ next to me.” Sendo scoots a bit closer to him, almost touching. If Ippo took even a large enough breath, his chest would press against his. He glances down between them, where a patch of Sendo’s stomach is still peeking out from under the oversized sweatshirt. “Don’t even say it, Makunouchi.”

“Say what?”

“I know yer lookin’ at my gut. I always put on a bit of…mass durin’ the off-season.” Sendo reaches down with his free hand to pull the fabric down, but Ippo grabs his wrist. _There’s_  that look he was expecting when he first walked in…

“It’s fine! I…” He can feel his cheeks practically glowing, and he’s glad it’s gotten darker in the room, save for the flashes of light from the television. “I like it.”

“Whattaya mean, ya like it?”

With fingers he’s surprised aren’t a trembling mess, he lets go of Sendo’s arm to touch the spot, first with his fingertips, then his knuckles. It’s the softest part of him he’s ever felt, and it’s so nice, so unlike anything he’s known of Sendo to this point. Even when they’ve kissed in the past, it’s been messy and hard and aggressive, but this is different. Sendo’s breath hitches when he pushes his hand underneath, across the velvety plushness and finally around to his back, tracing the muscles there. “It’s…cute.”

“Yer real lucky that you’re you, Makunouchi,” Sendo says as he moves his other hand to Ippo’s waist. “I’d pummel anyone else for callin’ me ‘cute.’”  

Ippo kisses him this time, and he’s surprised that despite all his trepidation he’s the one who makes that first move. He expects that Sendo is going to take over - that’s just him, right? All force, all offense, all energy - but he actually lets him take his time, and Ippo gladly does. He lets go of Sendo’s hand just so he can feel his unruly brown hair, cradle his head so he can get a better angle to deepen the kiss. He touches him under his hoodie, emboldened by the way Sendo pulls him in tight to his front, massaging Ippo’s jaw…it feels so good. He wants this. Wants all of it and more and –

He pulls back and tries to say something, but it comes out on a gasp of air, several breaths accompanying it. Sendo chuckles. “Come again?”

It’s hard to put the words together, because all Ippo wants to do is dive back into kissing Sendo, but he forces himself to pause. Not that that stops Sendo, who is pressing his mouth over and over along his jaw. “Let’s…I mean…” His lips are very distracting, and it’s infuriatingly _good_  to the point that Ippo practically yells, “Be my boyfriend, Sendo-san!”

The touch of lips against his skin pauses then, and Sendo pulls back just an inch. His eyes don’t seem angry or even sad. But…thoughtful. “But yer–”

“Yeah, I know. I’m in Tokyo and you’re here, but we could make it work, right? You could come up and stay with me during the holidays, and I could come here during parts of the off-season, and…” It’s weird, feeling like this, like all of his muscles are too big for his skin, like he’s going to burst open. “Please, Sendo-san? Please? Can we try? I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work. I promise.”

Ippo makes a high-pitched noise when Sendo actually shoves him onto his back and climbs on top of him. The presence of the boxer’s body heavily pressing down on him derails his entire thought process, even more so when he briefly but insistently slots his mouth with his, tongue rubbing against Ippo’s before he pulls back, resting on his forearms. Now, he’s smiling. “Hang on, lemme finish.” A thumb touches his face, caresses his temple. “I was gonna say…but yer not allowed to call me ‘Sendo-san,’ if we’re going out, yeah? Ya gotta call me ‘Takeshi.’ All the time.”

Ippo’s heart seems to stutter in his chest. He should say something, but he doesn’t know what, because he’s way, way too happy. Instead he just puts his hands on his cheeks and kisses him again, shallow and tender, and when he parts only far enough to speak, he whispers, “Takeshi.”

There’s that grin again, and it’s one he could absolutely get used to. He’s quiet in a way that Ippo never thought he could be, especially so close, tracing the side of his nose with his own. “Guess that’s that, huh, Ippo-chan?”

He can’t help groaning at that. “So your grandmother even calls me that with you, huh?”

“My _grandmother_  calls you that?!”

And they’re both laughing, holding one another, and neither of them are so foolish that they don’t know this will be a challenge. But they also know that facing something difficult has certainly never stopped them before.


End file.
